Microfluidic Acoustic Metamaterial SAW Based Sensor

Introduction. Microacoustic sensors based on surface acoustic wave (SAW) devices allow the sensor integration into a wafer based microfluidic analytical platforms such as lab-on-a-chip. Currently exist various approaches of application of SAW devices for liquid properties analysis. But this sensors probe only a thin interfacial liquid layer. The motivation to develop the new SAW-based sensor is to overcome this limitation. The new sensor introduced here uses acoustic measurements, including surface acoustic waves (SAW) and acoustic methamaterial sensor approaches. The new sensor can become the starting point of a new class of microsensor. It measures volumetric properties of liquid analytes in a cavity, not interfacial properties to some artificial sensor surface as the majority of classical chemical and biochemical sensors.Objective. The purpose of the work is to find solutions to overcome SAW-based liquid sensors limitations and the developing of a new sensor that uses acoustic measurements and includes a SAW device and acoustic metamaterial.Materials and methods. A theoretical analysis of sensor structure was carried out on the basis of numerical simulation using COMSOL Multiphysics software. Lithium niobate (LiNbO3) 127.86° Y-cut with wave propagation in the X direction was chosen as a substrate material. Microfluidic structure was designed as a set of rectangular shape channels. A method for measuring volumetric properties of liquids, based on SAW based fluid sensor concept, comprising the steps of: (a) providing sensor structure with the key elements: a SAW resonator, a high-Q set of liquid-filled cavities and intermediate layer with artificial elastic properties between them; (b) measuring of resonance frequency shift, associated with the resonance in liquid-filled cavity, in the response of weakly coupled resonators of SAW resonator loaded by periodic microfluidic structure; (c) determination of volumetric properties of the fluid on the basis of a certain relationship between the speed of sound in liquid, the resonant frequency of the set of liquid-filled cavities, and the geometry design of the cavity.Results. The new sensor approach is introduced. The eigenmodes of the sensor structure with a liquid analyte are carried out. The characteristic of sensor structure is determined. The key elements of introduced microfluidic sensor are a SAW structure, an acoustic metamaterial with a periodic set of microfluidic channels. The SAW device acts as electromechanical transducer. It excites surface waves propagating in the X direction lengthwise the periodic structure and detects the acoustic load generated by the microfluidic structure resonator. The origin of the sensor signal is a small frequency change caused by small variations of acoustic properties of the analyte within the set of microfluidic channels.Conclusion. The principle of the new microacoustic sensor, which can become the basis for creating a new class of microfluidic sensors, is shown.Introduction. Microacoustic sensors based on surface acoustic wave (SAW) devices allow the sensor integration into a wafer based microfluidic analytical platforms such as lab-on-a-chip. Currently exist various approaches of application of SAW devices for liquid properties analysis. But this sensors probe only a thin interfacial liquid layer. The motivation to develop the new SAW-based sensor is to overcome this limitation. The new sensor introduced here uses acoustic measurements, including surface acoustic waves (SAW) and acoustic methamaterial sensor approaches. The new sensor can become the starting point of a new class of microsensor. It measures volumetric properties of liquid analytes in a cavity, not interfacial properties to some artificial sensor surface as the majority of classical chemical and biochemical sensors.Objective. The purpose of the work is to find solutions to overcome SAW-based liquid sensors limitations and the developing of a new sensor that uses acoustic measurements and includes a SAW device and acoustic metamaterial.Materials and methods. A theoretical analysis of sensor structure was carried out on the basis of numerical simulation using COMSOL Multiphysics software. Lithium niobate (LiNbO3) 127.86° Y-cut with wave propagation in the X direction was chosen as a substrate material. Microfluidic structure was designed as a set of rectangular shape channels. A method for measuring volumetric properties of liquids, based on SAW based fluid sensor concept, comprising the steps of: (a) providing sensor structure with the key elements: a SAW resonator, a high-Q set of liquid-filled cavities and intermediate layer with artificial elastic properties between them; (b) measuring of resonance frequency shift, associated with the resonance in liquid-filled cavity, in the response of weakly coupled resonators of SAW resonator loaded by periodic microfluidic structure; (c) determination of volumetric properties of the fluid on the basis of a certain relationship between the speed of sound in liquid, the resonant frequency of the set of liquid-filled cavities, and the geometry design of the cavity.Results. The new sensor approach is introduced. The eigenmodes of the sensor structure with a liquid analyte are carried out. The characteristic of sensor structure is determined. The key elements of introduced microfluidic sensor are a SAW structure, an acoustic metamaterial with a periodic set of microfluidic channels. The SAW device acts as electromechanical transducer. It excites surface waves propagating in the X direction lengthwise the periodic structure and detects the acoustic load generated by the microfluidic structure resonator. The origin of the sensor signal is a small frequency change caused by small variations of acoustic properties of the analyte within the set of microfluidic channels.Conclusion. The principle of the new microacoustic sensor, which can become the basis for creating a new class of microfluidic sensors, is shown

First order dipolar phase transition in the Dicke model with infinitely coordinated frustrating interaction

We found analytically a first order quantum phase transition in the Cooper pair box array of $N$ low-capacitance Josephson junctions capacitively coupled to a resonant photon in a microwave cavity. The Hamiltonian of the system maps on the extended Dicke Hamiltonian of $N$ spins one-half with infinitely coordinated antiferromagnetic (frustrating) interaction. This interaction arises from the gauge-invariant coupling of the Josephson junctions phases to the vector potential of the resonant photon field. In $N \gg 1$ semiclassical limit, we found a critical coupling at which ground state of the system switches to the one with a net collective electric dipole moment of the Cooper pair boxes coupled to superradiant equilibrium photonic condensate. This phase transition changes from the first to second order if the frustrating interaction is switched off. A self-consistently `rotating' Holstein-Primakoff representation for the Cartesian components of the total superspin is proposed, that enables to trace both the first and the second order quantum phase transitions in the extended and standard Dicke models respectively.Comment: 12 pages, 10 figure

Thiophene Determination in Liquid Hydrocarbons by In-line Acoustic Measurements

Introduction. Petroleum is a complex mixture of hydrocarbons. Sulphur is the most common heteroatom in pe-troleum and petroleum products. Its content in oil can reach 14 %. The determination of sulphur in oil and its removal is of great importance, since sulphur compounds adversely affect the quality of petroleum products and pollute the environment. Desulphurization of hydrocarbons is important in the processing of petroleum products, which needs in usage of accurate and simple methods for the sulphur-containing components determination. Most of developed methods are difficult to apply for flow online analysis, which can create difficulties in using them to monitor the content of sulphur-containing heteroatomic components in real time. Acoustic sensors are one of the possible solutions. In term of sensing of flammable liquids, the use of the acoustic methods is attractive since the analyte is not a part of an electrical measuring circuit and it is only acoustically coupled that prevents an occurrence of a spark.Objective. The purpose of the work is to study the possibilities of online flow analysis of sulphur-containing heteroatomic components using acoustic measurements. The challenge is the development of a resonator system integrated with the pipe.Materials and methods. Thiophene and oil fraction with the boundary boiling point of 100–140 oC were used to prepare the mixtures. Thiophene is a representative of sulphur-containing components, which may be included in the composition of petroleum and its derivatives. Experimental measuring equipment includes impedance analyzer, a developed sensor structure integrated with a liquid-filled pipe, a pump and a tank with a measured liquid. A theoretical analysis of sensor structure was carried out on the basis of numerical simulation using COMSOL Multiphysics software.Results. The sensor structure was designed as a combination of 2D and 1D pipe periodic arrangements to achieve high Q-factor of acoustic resonance in the flow system. The eigenmodes of the sensor structure with a liquid analyte were carried out. The characteristic of sensor structure is determined. The sensor shows good sensitivity to the thiophene content with high resolution in-line analysis. This result is achieved by limiting the energy losses of acoustic resonance in radiation along the pipe by creating a periodic structure.Conclusion. The study of acoustic properties of solutions prepared on the basis of thiophene and oil fraction with boundary boiling point 100–140 °C was performed. It shows that methods based on acoustic spectroscopy make it possible to accurately determine the concentration of heteroatomic components in gasoline mixtures, since the presence of heteroatomic components leads to a change in mechanical properties of liquid hydrocarbons mixtures. Possible applications for developed acoustic sensor are flow analysis for monitoring the quality of oil products. Introduction. Petroleum is a complex mixture of hydrocarbons. Sulphur is the most common heteroatom in pe-troleum and petroleum products. Its content in oil can reach 14 %. The determination of sulphur in oil and its removal is of great importance, since sulphur compounds adversely affect the quality of petroleum products and pollute the environment. Desulphurization of hydrocarbons is important in the processing of petroleum products, which needs in usage of accurate and simple methods for the sulphur-containing components determination. Most of developed methods are difficult to apply for flow online analysis, which can create difficulties in using them to monitor the content of sulphur-containing heteroatomic components in real time. Acoustic sensors are one of the possible solutions. In term of sensing of flammable liquids, the use of the acoustic methods is attractive since the analyte is not a part of an electrical measuring circuit and it is only acoustically coupled that prevents an occurrence of a spark.Objective. The purpose of the work is to study the possibilities of online flow analysis of sulphur-containing heteroatomic components using acoustic measurements. The challenge is the development of a resonator system integrated with the pipe.Materials and methods. Thiophene and oil fraction with the boundary boiling point of 100–140 oC were used to prepare the mixtures. Thiophene is a representative of sulphur-containing components, which may be included in the composition of petroleum and its derivatives. Experimental measuring equipment includes impedance analyzer, a developed sensor structure integrated with a liquid-filled pipe, a pump and a tank with a measured liquid. A theoretical analysis of sensor structure was carried out on the basis of numerical simulation using COMSOL Multiphysics software.Results. The sensor structure was designed as a combination of 2D and 1D pipe periodic arrangements to achieve high Q-factor of acoustic resonance in the flow system. The eigenmodes of the sensor structure with a liquid analyte were carried out. The characteristic of sensor structure is determined. The sensor shows good sensitivity to the thiophene content with high resolution in-line analysis. This result is achieved by limiting the energy losses of acoustic resonance in radiation along the pipe by creating a periodic structure.Conclusion. The study of acoustic properties of solutions prepared on the basis of thiophene and oil fraction with boundary boiling point 100–140 °C was performed. It shows that methods based on acoustic spectroscopy make it possible to accurately determine the concentration of heteroatomic components in gasoline mixtures, since the presence of heteroatomic components leads to a change in mechanical properties of liquid hydrocarbons mixtures. Possible applications for developed acoustic sensor are flow analysis for monitoring the quality of oil products

Cognitive Mechanisms for Creating a Genre form of Limerick As the Nonsense Literature

The article proves that a limerick is a genre form of nonsense literature. It also summarizes the cognitive strategies used in the translation of Edward Lear’s limericks into Russian. These strategies are used to convey the original structure and specificity of the semantic meaning of the limerick and include discursive construction — the direct process of constructing a discourse of nonsense from special language resources, the construction of the world itself, the representation of new reality with the help of this discourse; interpretation — adjustment to the current situation, when the original text is corrected based on the language parameters and specifics of native speakers world view; transfer of knowledge based on metaphor — the transition from directly given knowledge to indirectly given knowledge. The primary cognitive mechanism underlying the limerick as a genre form is the discursive construction of a specific nonsense world. According to the analysis, most of the surveyed students prefer the translations of E. Lear’s limericks, which are very close or entirely correspond to the characteristics of the original text from the formal point of view. Keywords: Limerick, cognitive theory of translation, interpretation, knowledge transfer, conceptual integratio

Double Scaling and Finite Size Corrections in sl(2) Spin Chain

We find explicit expressions for two first finite size corrections to the distribution of Bethe roots, the asymptotics of energy and high conserved charges in the sl(2) quantum Heisenberg spin chain of length J in the thermodynamical limit J->\infty for low energies E\sim 1/J. This limit was recently studied in the context of integrability in perturbative N=4 super-Yang-Mills theory. We applied the double scaling technique to Baxter equation, similarly to the one used for large random matrices near the edge of the eigenvalue distribution. The positions of Bethe roots are described near the edge by zeros of Airy function. Our method can be generalized to any order in 1/J. It should also work for other quantum integrable models.Comment: 23 page

Disorders in the System of Mineral and Bone Metabolism Regulators—FGF-23, Klotho and Sclerostin—in Chronic Kidney Disease: Clinical Significance and Possibilities for Correction

The chapter discusses the current understanding of the system of mineral and bone metabolism regulators—FGF-23, Klotho and sclerostin—disturbances in chronic kidney disease (CKD). In the chapter we presented the date, including our own results, which allow to suggest the change in the ratio of FGF-23-Klotho-sclerostin in CKD as an early biomarker not only for the chronic kidney damage but also for high cardiovascular (CV) risk. Results of studies show that disorders in FGF-23-Klotho-sclerostin ratio correlate with the frequency and severity of hypertension, vascular calcification, cardiac remodelling, anaemia, malnutrition, inflammation and strong aggravate CV risk in CKD. It was found independent from blood pressure (BP) action of increased serum FGF-23 on the myocardium as well as the correlation of serum high-sensitive troponin I with increased serum FGF-23 and low Klotho levels in CKD patients. At the same time, it was shown that renoprotective therapy, including renin-angiotensin blockers, low-protein diet with amino/keto acid supplementation and phosphate binders, erythropoiesis stimulators, vitamin D metabolites used to get the target levels of BP, serum phosphorus, haemoglobin, parathyroid hormone and nutritional status disorders correction can reduce the risk of CV events, as the major cause of death in CKD patients

Nutritional Status Disorders in Chronic Kidney Disease: Practical Aspects (Systematic Review)

Despite the significant achievements in the management of chronic kidney disease (CKD) patients, the mortality rate of these patients still remains high. Nutritional status disorders (NSD) are considered now as one of the prognostic risk factors not only for dialysis but also for predialysis CKD stages. Since the publication of KDIGO 2012 guidelines for CKD patient’s management, there has been some significant advancement in our understanding of main NSD mechanisms in CKD, including different nosological group patients (first, in diabetic and systemic diseases patients). At the same time, there is still an urgent need for randomized trials for better-informed decisions and future optimization of CKD patients’ care. This chapter provides the current data on all aspects of NSD in CKD: etiology, diagnosis, prevention, and treatment approaches, as well as on risk factors of NSD at predialysis stages and in chronic hemodialysis patients. Considerable attention was devoted to the diagnosis and differential diagnosis of NSD in CKD patients. It was determined that the overall strategy for dietary treatment contributed to improving the life quality of patients and slowing down of CKD progression. The review is written based on the published results of clinical studies performed on the position of evidence-based medicine

Anemia in Chronic Kidney Disease and After Kidney Allotransplantation (Systematic Review)

Anemia in chronic kidney disease (CKD) has been recognized as a separate independent risk factor of cardiovascular (CV) events. The aim of the review is to provide a literature summary concerning early diagnosis and treatment of anemia in CKD that may be useful for clinicians and contribute to decrease CV mortality. Literature searches were made in such major databases as: PubMed, Medline, Embase, Cochrane Library, CINAHL, Wiley Online Library, Scopus, Web of Science, e-library, and website of WHO. This search encompassed original articles, systematic reviews, and meta-analyses relevant to CKD and anemia over recent 15 years. A total of 54 references from 562 reviewed articles were selected as they met to the search criteria (anemia and CKD, including diabetes mellitus, systemic diseases and post-transplant anemia). The publications included 27 randomized controlled trials, 20 experimental studies representing new data on the links of CKD anemia and cardiovascular risk markers (cytokines, Klotho, fibroblast growth factor (FGF-23), hyperglycemia, hypoalbuminemia and some others), 4 systematic reviews and 3 clinical practice guidelines. The main attention was devoted to the analysis of the studies provided an early diagnosis of anemia, an ability to minimize the factors contributing to its severity that have allowed to improve CV and total outcomes and to reduce costs of hospital treatment of CKD patients with anemia

Biological Earth observation with animal sensors

Space-based tracking technology using low-cost miniature tags is now delivering data on fine-scale animal movement at near-global scale. Linked with remotely sensed environmental data, this offers a biological lens on habitat integrity and connectivity for conservation and human health; a global network of animal sentinels of environmen-tal change